In possible first, Mass. town plans to put its tax liens out to bid

In an effort to more quickly recoup money owed to the town, treasurer and tax collector Maureen Dwinell will soon bundle all tax liens and sell them to the highest responsible bidder.

Richard Conn

In an effort to more quickly recoup money owed to the town, treasurer and tax collector Maureen Dwinell will soon bundle all tax liens and sell them to the highest responsible bidder.

``I'm bundling 100 percent,'' Dwinnell said. ``This is a bulk sale.''

Dwinnell believes Hopkinton would be the first town in the state to sell off all of its tax liens in one fell swoop through a bulk sale process where the bidder would take all liens with no exceptions.

There is $1.7 million in back property taxes currently on the town's books, much of which has been left on the table for years, Dwinnell said.

The bulk sale would not involve an auction. Dwinnell said there are companies and firms that specialize in purchasing bulks of tax liens.

``It will be a bid process. The highest responsible bid will win,'' Dwinell said.

Those who owe back taxes to the town are now in the midst of a 60-day window to pay them off. Dwinell said she hopes to collect at least $300,000 during that time frame, which ends Nov. 19.

At least one week after that 60-day period ends, Dwinnell said she needs to have all of the bids for the liens in hand.

The criteria for the highest responsible bidder is determined by the state Department of Revenue, Dwinnell said. It can be a firm or individual, as long as they are established in the Commonwealth.

The successful bidder would then become the lienholder for all of the properties and would have to pay all the interest and penalties to the town that had accrued up to that point.

``I'm not discounting anything,'' Dwinnell said.

Whatever firm ends up as the successful bidder would also pay the town in one lump sum. That money would then go directly into the town's general fund, Dwinnell said.
The city of Lawrence is looking at a similar bulk sale proposal, according to treasurer and tax collector Patti Cook. The matter is now awaiting a vote from city council.

Cook said though that in Lawrence the high bidder would not have to take the entire group of liens, and instead could pick a bulk of properties.

Stephen Price, tax collector and treasurer for the town of Hudson, said the Board of Selectmen about a year and a half ago turned down a bulk sale proposal to collect on delinquent taxes.

Price he himself had ``mixed feelings'' on the process and that the feeling among town officials at the time the vote was taken was that they did not want to ``outsource'' the position of tax collector.

``It's a quick remedy to collect cash, but then you're dealing with a third party,'' Price said.

Dwinnell said that the process of selling off tax liens in one bundle is not easy and that is likely why more towns have not tried to pull it off.

There are mounds of paperwork to hash through and many steps legally that need to be taken.

However, Dwinnell said the payoff is that the town can bring in the money that has been owed to them, in some cases for several years.

``It's not fair to the other taxapyers in town that have to carry the burden of this $1.7 million,'' Dwinnell said.

Dwinnell said that selling the liens in bulk also saves the town the time and expense of having to head to Land Court for foreclosure proceedings, which in some cases can take several years to complete.

Richard Conn of The MetroWest (Mass.) Daily News can be reached at 508-626-4338 or rconn@cnc.com.